Friday, September 26, 2008

Prog 648

There’s a reason I called this blog The Slog. It’s because I remember long periods in 2000 AD’s history like this one. It really has felt like hard work recently. So, thank God for old school styled fun like Beyond Zero, the sequel to Night Zero.

In Beyond Zero, Tanner has teamed up with Adoria, a big dumb cloned warrior, and Gut 8, a robot whose operating system is based on highly regarded feminist, Risa Perea. They’ve been tricked into leaving the city under the pretence of spreading the positive word about it to those outside who don’t even know of its existence.

For Beyond Zero the tone seems to have switched from the Chandler stylings of the prequel to this mash-up between JudgeDredd epic The Cursed Earth and the Indiana Jones movies. Writer John Brosnan and artist Kevin Hopgood deliver a story that rolls along nicely featuring a fun dynamic between its main characters. There’s even been a little heartbreak amongst the explosions and the banter when the bad guy is revealed to be the real Risa Perea having now dispensed with her feminist principles.

Beyond Zero isn’t by any means the best strip to ever appear in 2000 AD but compared to some of the uninspired rubbish that’s appeared over the last year or so it does feel like sweet relief.

About

Where I endeavour to read every issue, or progs, of 2000 AD and appropriate associated comics, specials and annuals published between number one and 1, 188. Will this experiment result in, as Tharg the Mighty has warned of many times in his editorials over the years, thrill power overload or will I, like Morgan Spurlock in the documentary Supersize Me, end up being sick a lot and twenty five pounds heavier? Only this blog will tell.